Brackets for mounting antenna cables

ABSTRACT

A bracket for mounting cables on an antenna pole includes: a pair of L-shaped members, each of the L-shaped members including a main panel, a pair of jaws extending from opposite edges of the main panel, and a flange extending generally perpendicularly to the main panel, wherein the main panel includes a plurality of first mounting apertures, and wherein the flange includes a plurality of second mounting apertures; a pair of rods, each rod extending through a first mounting aperture of each of the L-shaped members; and a securing component that engages each rod to fix the members relative to each other.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/375,544, filed Apr. 4, 2019, now U.S.Pat. No. 11,159,006, which claims priority from and the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/744,771, filed Oct. 12, 2018, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporate herein by reference in itsentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to mounts for antennas, radiosand cables, and more particularly to mounts for antennas, radios andcables on an antenna tower or monopole.

BACKGROUND

With increased demand for more wireless communication, the number ofradio and antenna units that a tower traditionally supports hasincreased and is expected to continue to increase. New towers will needto be designed to support greater numbers of antenna and radio units,while existing towers are retrofitted to support more units, and effortis made to fully utilize space available on the towers.

Antennas typically mount to a round pipe; an exemplary mount with roundvertical pipes for antenna mounting is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 9,812,762to Skrepcinski, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein inits entirety). When mounting antennas to towers or other structures, thecables attaching the radio to the antenna typically protrude from thebottom of the antenna for some unsupported length. It is typicallydesirable to secure these cables to maintain a sense of organization andto prevent swaying in the wind. A system of cable support brackets iscommonly used to hold these cables in place. Those cable support systemsusually also mount to the same pipe to which the antenna is mounted, andinclude two half-clamps that are joined with bolts that extend on eitherside of the pipe. The front plane of one of the half-clamps is parallelto the face of the antenna. Additional brackets are then bolted onto thefront half-clamp. Additional support may be needed behind the antennawhen the radio is not mounted in close proximity to the antenna and fromthe radio to an overvoltage protection unit, which is typically mountedin a central position on the mount to feed up to 6 radios.

Areas near cellular antennas (i.e., within 1λ, or one wavelength) can be(relatively) high radio frequency (RF) energy environments. Conductiveitems in these areas, such as hangers, brackets and other hardware, cangenerate undesirable passive intermodulation (PIM). Typical examples ofpotential PIM-generating conditions include the combination ofsteel-on-steel contact (between two or more components), plus lowcontact pressure and/or relative movement between the steel componentsat the joint. As such, it may be desirable to provide solutions forhanging cables with reduced (or eliminated) likelihood of PIMgeneration.

SUMMARY

As a first aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to abracket for mounting cables on an antenna pole. The bracket comprises: apair of L-shaped members, each of the L-shaped members including a mainpanel, a pair of jaws extending from opposite edges of the main panel,and a flange extending generally perpendicularly to the main panel,wherein the main panel includes a plurality of first mounting apertures,and wherein the flange includes a plurality of second mountingapertures; a pair of rods, each rod extending through a first mountingaperture of each of the L-shaped members; and a securing component thatengages each rod to fix the members relative to each other.

As a second aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to thebracket discussed above in combination with an expansion bracket, theexpansion bracket comprising: a main panel with opposed ends and aplurality of third mounting apertures; two end panels that merge withand extend generally perpendicularly to the main panel; and twoattachment flanges, each of which extends generally perpendicularly to arespective end panel, each of the attachment flanges secured to arespective flange of one of the L-shaped members.

As a third aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to abracket for mounting cables on an antenna pole, comprising: a pair ofclamps, each of the clamps including a clamping portion, a securingpanel extending from one end of the clamping portion and having a firstsecuring hole, and a cable mounting portion extending from a second,opposite end of the clamping portion, wherein each of the cable mountingportions includes a plurality of merging panels, and each of the panelsincludes a mounting hole, one of the panels including a second securinghole; a pair of rods, each rod extending through a first securing holeof one of the pair of clamps and through a second securing hole of theother of the pair of clamps; and a securing component that engages eachrod to fix the members relative to each other.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cable support bracket according toembodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are top and bottom perspective view of an exemplarypolymeric cable hanger that may be employed with the cable supportbracket of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cable support bracket of FIG. 1 andan attached expansion bracket according to embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a cable support bracket according toalternative embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the cable support bracket and expansionbracket of FIG. 3 with extender rails attached to the cable supportbracket,

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial perspective view of the cable supportbracket and one extender rail of FIG. 5 .

FIG. 7 is a side view of the of the cable support bracket and extenderrail of FIG. 6 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which certain embodiments of the invention are shown. Thisinvention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and shouldnot be construed as limited to the embodiments that are pictured anddescribed herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey thescope of the invention to those skilled in the art. It will also beappreciated that the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in anyway and/or combination to provide many additional embodiments.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms that areused in this disclosure have the same meaning as commonly understood byone of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Theterminology used in the below description is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments only and is not intended to belimiting of the invention. As used in this disclosure, the singularforms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms aswell, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also beunderstood that when an element (e.g., a device, circuit, etc.) isreferred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it canbe directly connected or coupled to the other element or interveningelements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to asbeing “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element,there are no intervening elements present.

Referring now to the drawings, a cable support bracket according toembodiments of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 and designatedbroadly at 20. The bracket 20 includes two mirror image L-shaped members22. Only one of the L-shaped members 22 will be described below, withthe understanding that the description applies equally to the other ofthe L-shaped members 22.

Each of the L-shaped members 22 has a clamp portion 24 and a flange 26that extends substantially perpendicularly to the clamp portion 24. Theclamp portion 24 has a main panel 28 with a plurality of mounting slots30. Upper and lower jaws 32, 34 extend perpendicularly from the upperand lower edges of the main panel 28. The upper and lower jaws 32, 34have scalloped edges 36, 38.

Each flange 26 includes a plurality (in this instance four) of mountingholes 42. The mounting holes 42 are typically nominally % inch indiameter. The mounting holes 42 are arranged in staggered fashion in tworows. In the illustrated embodiment, each flange 26 also includessmaller holes 44, also staggered in two rows, that are typicallynominally 7/16 inch in diameter to receive ⅜ inch hangers/hardware.

As can be seen in FIG. 1 , the bracket 20 can be mounted to the mountingpole 40 via two threaded rods 46, each of which is inserted into andthrough a respective slot 30 in the L-shaped members 22, wherein onethreaded rod 46 is located on each side of the pole 40. The threadedrods 46 are secured with nuts 48. The scalloped edges 36, 38 haveindentations that define mounting locations for the pole 40. Typically,an antenna (not shown) is mounted on the pole 40 above the bracket 20.

Once mounted, the bracket 20 can provide mounting locations for hangersthat secure cables in place, and particularly cables routed from theunderside of an antenna. Such cable hangers may be polymeric cablehangers that are sized for mounting in the mounting holes 42 and, oncemounted, capture cables. An exemplary cable hanger of this sort is shownin FIGS. 2A and 2B at 70 and is described in U.S. Patent Publication No.2018/0045336 to Vaccaro, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporatedherein. The use of polymeric hangers eliminates the generation of PIMfrom metal-to-metal contact that could result from the use of metalhangers.

The bracket 20 can provide certain performance advantages. For example,the scalloped edges 36, 38 of the upper and lower jaws 32, 34 can enablethe bracket 20 to be mounted such that the distances of the flanges 26from the pole 40 can be varied. As such, the bracket 20 can be mountedso that the flanges 26 and cable hangers mounted thereto are positionedconveniently relative to an antenna also mounted to the pole 40. Forexample, the bracket 20 may be mounted so that the flanges 26 and cablehangers mounted therein are positioned generally directly belowconnectors located on the bottom portion of the antenna.

In addition, the shape of the scalloped edges 36, 38 and the positionsand lengths of the slots 30 can enable the jaws 32, 34 to clamp on polesof different sizes. Thus, the bracket 20 may be suitable for poleshaving diameters as small as 2⅜ inches or smaller to as large as 3½inches or larger.

In addition, the bracket 20 can be mounted to the pole 40 with only thethreaded rods 46 and still provide mounting locations for cable hangersbelow an antenna. This simple arrangement can maintain the number ofpoints of metal-to-metal contact at a low number, and these points canbe tightly secured. Both keeping the number of points of contact low andensuring secure contact can reduce or minimize PIM that can be generatedat loose metal-to-metal joints.

Those of skill in this art will appreciate that the bracket 20 may takeother forms. For example, the flanges 26 may extend from the main panel30 at an oblique angle, such as a 30 or 45 degree angle. The flange 26may include more or fewer mounting holes of either size, the mountingholes may be arranged in more or fewer rows, and/or the holes may not bestaggered. The bracket 20 is shown as being formed of a metallicmaterial, such as steel, but may be formed of other materials, such ascomposites (e.g., reinforced polymers and/or ceramics).

As another example, the bracket 20 may be secured to the pole in otherways. For example, a securing component other than a nut may be employedon the rods (e.g., a cotter pin or spring nut). In such instances, therods may not be threaded as described above.

As a further example, the scalloped edges 36, 38 of the upper and lowerjaws 32, 34 are shown as having gradually curved roots and crests, butas used herein the term “scalloped edges” is intended to include otheredges that have roots and crests, including herringbone, sawtooth, wavy,sinuous and the like. In the illustrated embodiment, the crests areseparated by about ½ and 1 inch, and the roots are between about ¼ and ½inch deeper than the crests.

In addition, in some embodiments the L-shaped members 22 may be orientedsuch that the flange 26 of one L-shaped member 22 is located on one sideof the pole 40 (e.g., under the radio) and the flange of the otherL-shaped member 22 is located on the opposite side of the pole 40 (e.g.,under the antenna). In other words, one of the L-shaped brackets 22 maybe inverted from its orientation in FIG. 1 . This configuration canprovide mounting locations under both the radio and the antenna.

Referring now to FIG. 3 , the bracket 20 can be used in conjunction withan expansion bracket 50 to provide a larger number of mounting locationsfor cable hangers. The expansion bracket 50 is generally C-shaped, witha main panel 52, end panels 54 that extend perpendicularly from the endsof the main panel 52, and attachment flanges 56 that extendperpendicularly to the end panels 54. The main panel 52 includes aplurality of staggered mounting holes 58 arranged in two rows, withsmaller offset holes 60. Like the mounting holes 42, 44 of the bracket20, the mounting holes 58, 60 are typically nominally % inch and 7/16inch in diameter. The attachment flanges 56 include slots 62.

The expansion bracket 50 can be mounted onto the bracket 20 with bolts64 inserted through the slots 62 in the attachment flanges 56 andaligned holes 44 in the flanges 26 of the bracket 20, where they aresecured with nuts (not shown).

Notably, the attachment flanges 56 are vertically offset from eachother; i.e., on one side the attachment flange 56 extends from the upperedge of the adjacent end panel 54, and on the other side the attachmentflange 56 extends from the lower edge of the adjacent end panel 54. Thisoffset positions each of the attachment flanges 56 in alignment with arespective hole 44 in the flange 26 to which the attachment flange 56 ismounted. This arrangement also enables the expansion bracket 50 to beoriented for mounting irrespective of the “upside-down” or“right-side-up” orientation of the expansion bracket 50.

The expansion bracket 50 mounted to the bracket 20 in this mannersignificantly increases the number of mounting locations for cablehangers. The advantages discussed above for the bracket 20 are equallyapplicable here. In particular, the expansion bracket 50 can be securedto the bracket 20 with only two additional mounting points, both ofwhich can be tightly secured, which can reduce or minimize thegeneration of PIM. Also, the main panel 52 can be mounted at a desiredset-off distance from a mounting pole due to the presence of thescalloped edges 36, 38 of the upper and lower jaws 32, 34, which, asdiscussed above, can enable cable hangers to be mounted near connectorsof an antenna mounted on the mounting pole. Moreover, the expansionbracket 50 may be employed independently for wall or rooftopdeployments.

Those skilled in this art will appreciate that the expansion bracket 50could take other forms. For example, the main panel 52 may be longer orshorter, with more or fewer holes 58, 60. The end panels 54 may belonger or shorter. Alternatively, the expansion bracket 50 may comprisesimply a main panel with mounting holes that is attached to one or bothof the flanges 26 of the mounting bracket 20. Other configurations mayalso be employed.

The capacity for providing mounting locations for cable hangers can befurther enhanced via the use of one or two extender rails, shown inFIGS. 5-7 and designated at 200. Each extender rail 200 is generallyC-shaped in profile, with a main panel 202 and lips 204, although insome embodiments the extender rail may lack lips 204 (i.e., the extenderrail may be flat and/or planar). On one end, each main panel 202includes a plurality of mounting slots 206. On the opposite end, eachmain panel 202 includes a pattern of staggered mounting holes 208arranged in two rows, with smaller offset holes 210 filling in the“gaps” between the mounting holes 208 in much the same manner as theholes 58, 60 discussed above.

As can be seen in FIG. 6 , each extender rail 200 can be attached to thecable support bracket 20 by positioning the extender rail 200 to overliea free end of the L-shaped member 22, then inserting the threaded rod 46through the mounting slot 206 at the same time the threaded rod 46 isinserted through the mounting slots 30 of the cable support bracket 20.The nut 48 can then secure both the cable support bracket 20 and theextender rail 200 to the pole 40. The extender rails 200 can be furthersecured to the cable support bracket 20 with additional bolts and nuts212, 214 inserted through the mounting slots 206 if desired. As anotheralternative, the extender rails 200 may be mounted with both threadedrods 46 and no other bolts and nuts.

In this configuration, the holes 208, 210 provide mounting locations forcable hangers such as those shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, and can providesuch locations with similar benefits as discussed above in connectionwith the expansion bracket 50. Also, the plurality of mounting slots 206provides the technician with multiple options for locating the extenderrails 200 on the bracket 20.

Referring now to FIG. 4 , another cable mounting bracket, designatedbroadly at 100, is shown therein. The bracket 100 comprises twoidentical clamps 102. Each clamp 102 includes a V-shaped clampingportion 104, a securing panel 106 that extends from one end of theclamping portion 104, and a generally C-shaped cable mounting portion108 that is mounted to the opposite end of the clamping portion 104. Thecable mounting portion 108 includes serially merging near, intermediateand end panels 110, 112, 114 that are disposed at right angles to eachother. The near panel 110 is substantially parallel with the securingpanel 106 (and may in some embodiments be coplanar with the securingpanel 106). The end panel 114 is substantially parallel with the nearpanel 110. Each of the near, intermediate and end panels 110, 112, 114includes a respective cable mounting hole 116, 118, 120, which aretypically nominally % inch in diameter. The securing panel 106 includesa mounting hole 122. The near panel 110 includes a mounting hole 124between the cable mounting hole 116 and the clamping portion 104.

As can be seen in FIG. 4 , the clamps 102 can be secured to a mountingpole 130 by positioning the clamps 102 on opposite sides of the pole130, with the pole 130 captured within the clamping portion 104 of eachclamp 102 and with the cable mounting portions 108 of the clamps 102extending in opposite directions. This arrangement aligns the mountingholes 122 of each clamp 102 with the mounting holes 124 of the otherclamp 102. Bolts 132 can then be inserted through the mounting holes122, 124 and secured with a nut 134. In this position, the bracket 100can provide mounting locations for a cable hanger such as that shown inFIGS. 2A and 2B, and can do so with tightly secured mounting points toreduce PIM.

Any or all of the bracket 20, expansion bracket 50, extender rails 200,and bracket 100 may be formed of a metallic material, such as steel oraluminum, or of a composite material.

The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to beconstrued as limiting thereof. Although exemplary embodiments of thisinvention have been described, those skilled in the art will readilyappreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplaryembodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings andadvantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications areintended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined inthe claims. The invention is defined by the following claims, withequivalents of the claims to be included therein.

That which is claimed is:
 1. A bracket for mounting cables on an antennapole, comprising: a pair of L-shaped members, each of the L-shapedmembers including a main panel, a pair of jaws extending from oppositeedges of the main panel, and a flange extending generallyperpendicularly to the main panel, wherein the main panel includes aplurality of first mounting apertures, and wherein the flange includes aplurality of second mounting apertures; and a pair of rods, each rodextending through a first mounting aperture of each of the L-shapedmembers; a securing component that engages each rod to fix the L-shapedmembers relative to each other; and an extension panel having aplurality of third mounting apertures, the extension panel mounted toone of the L-shaped members on an end opposite the flange.
 2. Thebracket defined in claim 1, wherein the extension panel is mounted tothe manel panel of the L-shaped member via one of the rods.
 3. Thebracket defined in claim 1, wherein the rods are threaded rods, and thesecuring components are nuts.
 4. The bracket defined in claim 1, whereineach of the plurality of second mounting apertures and each of theplurality of third mounting apertures has a nominal diameter of ¾ inch.5. The bracket defined in claim 1, wherein each of the L-shaped membersis a unitary member formed of a metallic material or a compositematerial.
 6. The bracket defined in claim 1, wherein the jaws includescalloped edges.
 7. The bracket defined in claim 1, in combination witha mounting pole, the mounting pole being sandwiched between the jaws ofthe L-shaped members.
 8. The bracket defined in claim 1, in combinationwith at least one cable hanger inserted into one of the second mountingapertures and/or into one of the third mounting apertures.
 9. Thebracket defined in claim 8, wherein the at least one cable hanger is aplurality of cable hangers.
 10. The bracket defined in claim 8, whereinthe at least one cable hanger is a polymeric cable hanger.
 11. Thebracket defined in claim 1, in combination with an expansion bracketcomprising: a main panel with opposed ends and a plurality of fourthmounting apertures; two end panels that merge with and extend generallyperpendicularly to the main panel; two attachment flanges, each of whichextends generally perpendicularly to a respective end panel, each of theattachment flanges secured to a respective flange of one of the L-shapedmembers.
 12. The combination defined in claim 11, wherein each of theplurality of fourth mounting apertures is nominally % inch in diameter.13. The combination defined in claim 11, wherein at least one cablehanger is inserted into one of the fourth mounting holes.
 14. Thecombination defined in claim 13, wherein the at least one cable hangeris a plurality of cable hangers.
 15. The combination defined in claim13, wherein the at least one cable hanger is a polymeric cable hanger.16. The combination defined in claim 11, further comprising a mountingpole, the mounting pole being sandwiched between the jaws of theL-shaped members.
 17. The combination defined in claim 16, furthercomprising an antenna mounted to the mounting pole.
 18. A bracket formounting cables on a mounting pole, comprising: a pair of clampingmembers configured to be secured to a mounting pole; a cable hangermounting member coupled to the pair of clamping members, the cablehanger mounting member comprising a flat panel including a plurality ofmounting holes, wherein the flat panel defines a plane parallel to anaxis defined by the mounting pole and the cable hanger mounting memberis offset from the mounting pole.
 19. The bracket defined in claim 18,wherein the mounting holes are arranged in a staggered pattern along theflat panel.
 20. The bracket defined in claim 18, wherein the cablehanger mounting member is elongated in a dimension orthogonal to theaxis of the mounting pole.
 21. The bracket defined in claim 18, whereineach of the mounting holes is configured to receive and secure a cablehanger to the cable hanger mounting member.
 22. The bracket defined inclaim 18, wherein the pair of clamping members are secured to themounting pole via a pair of rods and a securing component that engageseach rod.
 23. The bracket defined in claim 22, wherein the rods arethreaded rods, and the securing components are nuts.
 24. The bracketdefined in claim 18, wherein the mounting pole is an antenna pole. 25.The bracket defined in claim 18, in combination with a mounting pole,the mounting pole being sandwiched between the pair of clamping members.26. The bracket defined in claim 21, in combination with at least onecable hanger inserted into one of mounting holes.
 27. The bracketdefined in claim 26, wherein the at least one cable hanger is aplurality of cable hangers.
 28. A bracket for mounting cables on amounting pole, comprising: a pair of clamping members configured to besecured to a mounting pole; a cable hanger mounting member coupled tothe pair of clamping members, the cable hanger mounting membercomprising a flat panel including a plurality of mounting holes, theflat panel defining a plane parallel to the mounting pole, wherein thecable hanger mounting member is offset from, and elongated in adimension orthogonal to, an axis of the mounting pole.
 29. The bracketdefined in claim 28, wherein the mounting holes are arranged in astaggered pattern along the flat panel of the cable hanger mountingmember.
 30. The bracket defined in claim 28, wherein each of themounting holes is configured to receive and secure a cable hanger to thecable hanger mounting member.
 31. The bracket defined in claim 28,wherein the pair of clamping members are secured to the mounting polevia a pair of rods and a securing component that engages each rod. 32.The bracket defined in claim 31, wherein the rods are threaded rods, andthe securing components are nuts.
 33. The bracket defined in claim 28,wherein the mounting pole is an antenna pole.
 34. The bracket defined inclaim 28, in combination with a mounting pole, the mounting pole beingsandwiched between the pair of clamping members.
 35. The bracket definedin claim 30, in combination with at least one cable hanger inserted intoone of mounting holes.
 36. The bracket defined in claim 35, wherein theat least one cable hanger is a plurality of cable hangers.
 37. A bracketfor mounting cables on a mounting pole, comprising: a pair of clampingmembers secured to a mounting pole via a pair of rods and a securingcomponent that engages each rod; a cable hanger mounting member securedto the pair of clamping members via the pair of rods, the cable hangermounting member comprising a flat panel and including a plurality ofmounting holes, wherein the cable hanger mounting member is offset fromthe mounting pole and extends in a plane normal to the pair of rods. 38.The bracket defined in claim 37, wherein the mounting holes are arrangedin a staggered pattern along the flat panel.
 39. The bracket defined inclaim 37, wherein the cable hanger mounting member is elongated in adimension orthogonal to an axis of the mounting pole.
 40. The bracketdefined in claim 37, wherein each of the mounting holes is configured toreceive and secure a cable hanger to the cable hanger mounting member.41. The bracket defined in claim 37, wherein the rods are threaded rods,and the securing components are nuts.
 42. The bracket defined in claim37, wherein the mounting pole is an antenna pole.
 43. The bracketdefined in claim 37, in combination with a mounting pole, the mountingpole being sandwiched between the pair of clamping members.
 44. Thebracket defined in claim 40, in combination with at least one cablehanger inserted into one of mounting holes.
 45. The bracket defined inclaim 44, wherein the at least one cable hanger is a plurality of cablehangers.